Insane Experience in Border Worlds
by Rogue-Leader-Rebel-Alliance
Summary: This is just someone's experience when playing Freelancer after beating the game.


I'd been running the trade route between New Tokyo and New Berlin for some time now - even with the trip through the Sigma 13 system, it seemed like a vacation after that whole ordeal with the Nomads. I was running diamonds to New Tokyo, and coming back with Niobium to sell at The Ring near Berlin. It was extremely profitable, but a little too easy. When I'd finally saved up enough money, I bought a Rheinland Falcon Heavy Fighter. It had a great deal more armor than my old Anubis. Turns out, it's also a hell of a lot more maneuverable. I took it out on a couple of test runs through Sigma 13 and tried it out against some Corsairs. It handled well, but I wasn't satisfied. I had heard about a space station called Freeport 9, where they were selling some prototype fighter ship called the Eagle. From the sound of it, this ship would out perform my Falcon in every way. The only problem is that it happened to lie way out in the Omicron Theta system, which can only be reached by traversing territory that's crawling with Corsairs. I went back to trading until I had about a half million credits, then I set out for Freeport 9. Things were quiet until I hit Sigma 13. I headed in the general direction of the jump hole to Sigma 17. When I was close enough to see the jump hole, a patrol of Corsairs ambushed me! There were four of them, all flying Centurions! I knew I was outgunned, but instead of just diving into the jump hole, I decided to duke it out. I wound up regretting that decision. I won the fight, but at a high cost - I had to use a fourth of my shield batteries. I briefly considered returning to Helgoland Station for repairs, but ultimately decided to soldier on. Immediately upon reaching the other side of the jump hole, I was confronted by four more Corsair Centurions! By the time I gained control of my spacecraft, they had already drained my shields, so I hit the thrusters and initiated evasive maneuvers. Once my shields had recovered, I began to dogfight with them, and it was a perilous game of stick-and-move. As soon as I'd scored my first kill, though, my hopes were crushed by the appearance of four more Corsairs, all flying centurions! At this point, a seemingly constant stream of cannonfire hammered into my ship. In desperation, I hit the cruise engines and started dropping all my countermeasure flares, but one of the Corsairs managed to hit me with a cruise disruptor anyway. I was within a couple hits of being killed, so I activated both my nanobots and my shield batteries, and by this time I was completely out of the latter. I began frantic evasive maneuvers- it was all I could do to not get killed. Here and there, though, I fought back. By the time I scored my next kill, I was almost dead again, so I hit the nanobots. I kept hitting the thrusters, making a brief attack, hitting the thrusters, etc. Eventually I killed another Corsair, and another. They were all in Centurions. Finally, I was down to just one enemy. Even as I chased him, his rear turret kept hammering on my hull. When at last his ship burst into flames, I almost screamed with triumph, but there was no time to waste! I quickly pulled up my nav map and plotted a course for the approximate location of the Omicron Theta jump hole. Unfortunately, it was on the other side of the system, and there was a big star in my way! It took me a few moments to plot a safe course around the star, and while I was busy doing that, another patrol of Corsairs reached me! With much effort, I fought them off. After my encounter with seven Corsair centurions, it seemed easier, but it was still a challenge. By the time I had killed them all, I had tractored in quite a few extra nanobots and shield batteries, so I felt like I had some breathing room. After killing the last Corsair, I wasted no time in heading straight for my first waypoint. After what seemed like an eternity,I reached the Omicron Theta jump hole. To get there, I wound up having to fight four patrols of four Corsairs each. And when I was about 3Km from the jump hole, another patrol appeared and disrupted my cruise engines. Having learned my lesson from Sigma 13, I simply hit the thrusters and made a beeline for the jump hole. I barely made it. Traveling through Omicron Theta wasn't nearly as bad as Sigma 17, but I did have to fight through a couple more Corsair patrols. Finally, broke out the edge of a dust cloud, and there it was - Freeport 9! I had finally made it! Atthat moment, another patrol knocked me out of cruise speed. I still had 9K to go, so I engaged them with the help of a bounty hunter patrol that just happened to be near - the first friendly faces I'd seen since leaving Helgoland Station! Even once I reached Freeport 9, another patrol of Corsairs appeared and attacked me. My shields were down and my hull in critical condition, and yet they continued to fire even after I started to dock. Somehow, though, I made it safely inside the station. I breathed a deep sigh of relief. My first stop was the bar, to buy a drink. While I was there, I discovered that the station was owned by the Zoners. My first reaction was, "Who the hell are the Zoners?" I figured I'd probably need to be in good standing with them to buy one of their prototype Eagle ships, so I bribed the bartender to put in a good word. My next stop was the ship dealer, to do you-know-what. With great anticipation, I selected the Eagle. What a beautiful sight! Unfortunately, I wasn't well-known enough to buy it! I was level 29, and I needed to be level 30! Grumbling angrily to myself, I walked off to the equipment dealer and repaired my ship. The bill was enormous. Fortunately, by selling some of my equipment, I was able to afford an amazing prototype shield that was 50% more powerful than the one I already had! So at least I got something out of the place.I went back to the bar, and found out that the bounty hunters operate out of Freeport 9. So I decided to do some jobs for them. A few dogfights with the Corsairs later, I was able to buy my precious Eagle! And I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I could mount those prototype DIAMONDBACK and BLUE BLAZE cannons on it - the ones I'd found in Sigma 13 a while back. So, armed with one of the most powerful starfighters in known space, a class nine shield, enough firepower to take out a Rheinland gunboat in just a few hits, and full supply of shield batteries and nanobots... I set out to get my revenge on the Corsairs of Sigma 17... 


End file.
